NORTH CANTON, OH— For Walsh University freshman students Tara Ebert and Mattison Davis, the Cavs Cave Campus Pantry is their new mission.
Both are from Akron and have previous experience in service-based projects in high school.
- Faculty and students at North Canton's Walsh University continue their collective mission to fight hunger.
- Walsh recently launched a pantry for college students who are facing food insecurity.
- The “Cavs Cave Food Pantry” is now open at St. Katharine Drexel House and is accepting donations
So when campus officials discovered a growing need of food insecurity among commuter students, they answered the call.
“Go to school and can’t eat breakfast or dinner or lunch. So that’s like the food insecurity people have here on campus, especially commuter students, I would say. So this food pantry is a certain way that they can just go in, get their food and go about their day,” says Davis.
The Pantry opened a week ago and is located in the Saint Katharine Drexel House, home to the University’s Campus Ministry department.
The Cavs Cave Campus Pantry has already received thousands of donations so far, anything from non-perishables, canned foods, and snacks to toiletries.
And someone recently donated a refrigerator, giving them space for fresh foods, fruits, and vegetables.
All students need to do is fill out this form; no questions asked.
“Unfortunately grants and scholarships most of the time don’t cover incidentals, and that includes meal plans and stuff like that here. So this isn’t even just specifically with Walsh with rising tuition rates. All across the country, colleges continue to experience this food insecurity,” says Ebert.
They also plan to have single-serve meals and continue to host additional food drives with local community organizations.
Both Ebert and Davis say they hope to inspire students at other colleges around the state to find a need and help one another.
“They all are struggling with this problem, but not many are doing something about it. So if this is something that can start a chain reaction, that would be incredible,” says Ebert.
Walsh University has more than 2,600 students, most who commute, and nearly all, 98% are on some form of financial aid.